Frozen jaw and the cold Brass key

"I was standing in the hallway of my old apartment trying to pack up a cardboard box of mismatched socks to return to a landlord I'd never met, but my partner was standing in the kitchen doorway telling me we had to stop seeing each other. his voice didn't even sound angry or sad—just totally flat, like he was reading a shopping list out loud or giving directions. I kept trying to ask why or remind him about a road trip we were supposed to take next month, but every time I opened my mouth to speak, my jaw felt totally frozen and locked shut. He reached over, set a cold brass house key on the counter, and just walked out the front door without even turning around to look at me. This heavy, crushing ache just collapsed inside my chest, making it hard to breathe. then all of a sudden I was sitting on a bench inside a noisy bowling alley holding a paper plate of fries, staring at my empty lap with that same hollow, sick feeling in my stomach that everything was just gone."